RAWALPINDI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has unveiled a plan to start commercial activities on about 42 kanals at Rawal Road near the runway of Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

According to the expression of interest sought from interested parties, the CAA has decided to use its spare land for commercial activities and generate resources for further development of airports in view of the financial crunch being faced by the government.

The aviation authority has planned to launch three commercial activities on the land: a marriage lawn, children’s park and a horticultural nursery, said a spokesman for the CAA on Sunday.

Out of the 42 kanals, the lion’s share - 85,000 square feet - will be utilised for the establishment of the marriage lawn, 75,000 square feet for the children’s park while the horticultural nursery will be developed on the remaining over 65,487 square feet.

All the three facilities will be developed by the private sector for whose participation the CAA has decided to grant licences. Officials in the CAA expressed the hope that the facilities would be functional by the end of this year.  Initially, the licence will be granted for five years which will be extendable for an unspecified number of years.

The spokesman said there were several vacant pockets of land owned by the CAA in the country, and as per policy it has been decided to lease out these lands for public welfare projects.

The development of a park and other facilities will keep the environment clean which is required at both ends of the runway, he maintained. It may be recalled that the land at Rawal Road remained unutilised and used as a dumping site by the public which is dangerous for aircraft during landing and takeoff.

The city is facing acute shortage of public parks, while the only park near Shamsabad – Nawaz Sharif Park - is in shambles.  It lacks recreational facilities for families and the existing ones are not up to the required standard.

In the cantonment area, there is no major park like Fatima Jinnah Park.  A couple of tiny roadside parks on the Mall Road offer no attraction for the public.  The Racecourse Park is basically a jogging park where there is no attraction for children and families.

The famous Ayub National Park has been divided to create non-recreational facilities, and the area left for the public has been licensed to limited but costly recreational facilities. Many visitors term it a semi-private park and prefer to visit parks in the federal capital.Estimates show that the number of visitors to Ayub Park has drasticallydeclined since it offers no attraction for children and families. There was a time when people used to throng the park during weekly and special holidays, but now it remains deserted.

Marriage lawn is a new concept for wedding and other family events.  Several wedding lawns have been developed in the federal capital over the years, and the proposed wedding lawn at the Rawal Road will create an attraction since almost all the wedding ceremonies in the city take place in hotels and halls.